Art and Art History:

A ‘hands-on’ video course involving most aspects of production from camera work and sound recording to editing and audio dubbing. The theory and practice of video technology are taught through a series of group exercises and out of class assignments. Students also study a range of classic videos and film as a means of understanding the language of the medium. A studio fee is levied on this course.

This course focuses on the study of image making – both digital and hand made. Through art and design briefs, students will study and explore colour, composition, illustration and visual narratives. This course familiarises students with two core visual applications: Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and serves as a prerequisite for most of the ADM digital courses.

Considers the nature of museums and art galleries and their role and function in our society and culture. Students study the workings of the art market and a variety of other topics that impinge upon it, such as conservation, restoration, the investment potential of art, and art world crime. Students visit many of the great London galleries and museums with their rich intercultural collections, as part of this course. A university-level survey of the history of international art is strongly recommended as a prerequisite.

Business:

An introduction to the accounting model, the measurement and classification of data and terminology essential to effective interpretation and use of financial statements, balance sheets and income statements. Underlying concepts are stressed and they are made concrete with illustrations. While mechanical and procedural details are explored, measurement and communication of data to external parties are emphasized.

This course introduces students to the generation of cost data for the preparation of proper, representative financial statements, and for optimal planning and control of routine operations and long range organizational goals. It focuses on the uses of formal cost accounting systems and quantitative techniques to make managerial decisions. Topics include: direct absorption income statements, job and process costing, allocation and proration, pro-forma and capital budgeting.

An introduction to basic economic methodology. Within a framework of supply and demand analysis, the behavior of producers and consumers is examined in the context of the efficient allocation of scarce resources in society.

This course introduces students to a theoretical treatment of national income and its key component parts. Macroeconomic models are used to examine policy issues and contemporary problems relating to output, income, spending and employment as well as inflation and growth.

This course provides an introduction to the concept and practice of entrepreneurship. The course intends to provide the ‘big picture’ on entrepreneurship, but to also cover a number of key micro issues relating to the more numerous small businesses that make up the majority of all business activity in societies everywhere. The course readily acknowledges that there is no single theory or model of entrepreneurship; but this lack of a distinct theoretical spine provides the course with its strongest advantage as this provides for an opportunity to present a multiplicity of case work and concepts. The emphasis is on comparing the diversity of approaches found within the world of the entrepreneur.

Environmental Science:

This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of the science of ecology through a study of ecosystems, conservation, biodiversity, and selected endangered or threatened species. The course will address natural and anthropogenic causes of species' decline and extinction and possible conservation techniques that are, could be, or could have been, used to reverse the extinction or decline. As well as some typical 'poster species', other less well know but equally important species will be discussed.

Film:

This course explores film as a medium across cultural and historical contexts. It covers films in its varied form, from the first projections in the late 19th century to online distribution today. Using examples of noteworthy films, it takes an introductory examination of the most important film theories and concepts, in the process examining how ideologies and meanings are imbedded in this vibrant medium.

This course explores key concepts that have shaped the study of gender in film in the past 50 years. It considers different spectators’ viewing positions and analyses how historical and social changes in the construction of masculinities and femininities have shaped specific film genres. A variety of issues related to sexuality, race/ethnicity and non-western representations are also considered as students are encouraged to study film texts closely to make their own readings based on the semiotics of the film and the ideology behind it.

General Education:

This core course focuses on you as a student, an active citizen and a future employable graduate. How can you use London, with all its attractions and all its problems, to help others whilst helping yourself? In this course, students will make full use of the research undertaken last semester, and the full range of skills being developed, to get involved in service learning in London and reflect critically on the effects both on themselves and on others. This is the second course in the Richmond Transitions sequence.

What do you consider when you consider your carbon footprint? How do you evaluate the quality and conclusions of a double blind trial? This core course aims to provide a means by which the student can effectively communicate an understanding and appreciation of the impact of science on everyday life and academic enquiry. Scientific areas to be explored range from ethics to evolution, physics to physiology, climate change to conservation, and trials and testing to thinkers and innovators. This core course teaches students to reflect critically on information so that they may make informed personal decisions about matters that involve science and understand the importance of science in other areas of their studies.

This core course explores the ways we can interpret and appreciate different types of art across cultures. How can we make sense of an art installation that consists of a pile of stones on a gallery floor? How can we understand music and the creative expression behind it? Through examples from the fine arts, film, theatre, music and fashion, this class engages with broad themes concerning the value of artistic thinking and the role it plays in education, social relations, urbanism and the creative economy.

How do you train your critical research and writing skills to be effective in the academic and professional arenas? How do you design and structure an argument that is convincing? This core course focuses on the principles of good scholarship and academic practice that will be required throughout the students’ studies and in the workplace. These skills are developed throughout the course so that students may, with increasing confidence, produce well-researched writing that demonstrates critical engagement with a self-selected academic topic. This is the second course in the Richmond academic research and writing sequence.

History, Politics and International Relations:

The course serves as a broad introduction to world cultures from the beginnings of humankind in Africa through to the end of Western Roman Empire in AD476. The peoples and cultures covered include: Neolithic society, Sumeria, Egypt, the Hittites, Assyria, Persia, the Greek world (including Alexander the Great and the successor kingdoms of the East), Han China, Rome, Islam, and the Byzantine Empire. The course aims to give the student a general understanding and appreciation of some of the art, architecture, philosophy, literature, religion, and politics of the cultures being studied. It also draws attention to diversity as well as similarities within and between regions and countries, emphasising the considerable interaction that occurred between different places and peoples. Specific attention will be paid to how historians study the past, including different forms of evidence and historiographical debates.

This course is a broad introductory survey of international relations. It acquaints students with the fundamental concepts and theories used in the discipline that help us make sense of our political world, and are crucial for further analysis of the field. The course gives students a taste of the theoretical debates and practical dynamics of global politics. It further examines some of the major challenges that humanity faces in the 21st century. Students get a chance to learn about and take part in the major debates of the discipline, for example concerning actors in the international system, the sources of insecurity, the relevance of economics to international politics, the importance of fighting poverty and underdevelopment, questions about how best to address environmental challenges, whether the state is still important and if globalization is a phenomena of the 20th century.

Follows the attempt to promote stability, economic development, and democratic systems of government in sub-Saharan Africa, and engages with the core issue of the relationship between the state, civil society, and external interests in the region. The many social, political, economic and security problems that hamper the development project are addressed, by following a historical trajectory from the colonial era through to modern times.

Mathematics:

This course is designed to provide students with the necessary mathematical background for calculus courses and its applications to some business and economics courses. It covers the fundamentals of real-valued functions, including polynomial, rational, exponential and logarithmic functions and introduces students to the concepts of derivative and integral calculus with its applications to specific concepts in micro- and macro-economics

Philosophy:

This course introduces students to discipline of philosophy. It examines various branches of philosophy including logic, epistemolgy, ontology, ethics, political and religious philosophy. It takes a topic-based rather than historical approach, and looks at set of problems such as the mind-body problem, empiricism versus rationalism, and subjectivism versus naturalism. To this end, various important Western philosophers will be considered including Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant & Russell.

Theatre:

Introduces students to the principles of directing and visual interpretation for the stage. The fundamentals of stage focus are closely examined, along with the natural areas of visual strength in blocking/staging and communicating with actors. Communication techniques for audiences through stage pictures and composition are evaluated and the underlying principles of the relationships between actor and director and the relationships between characters are examined. The course is a practical one: students work on exercises and progress to practical directing sessions of short assigned scenes, then onto the final chosen scene to be presented to an audience.

Provides an overview of the theatre of European and non European countries. Mainly issue-driven writing is examined, especially drama as a reaction to oppression. This course identifies styles that are specific to certain cultures in an aim to identify cultural influences from one country to another. Students are encouraged to contribute insights from their own individual cultures.